Windows XP forum: How can you print a .prn file?

My printer went wrong for some reason and I couldn't print anything. I paid several bills online and wanted to print a record with the receipt numbers to prove I had made the payment in case something went wrong. I always staple this page to the bill for later reference.

I thought as I couldn't print the page I would click the box on the printer preference that pops up in Windows XP Pro when you tell it to print something that says "Print to file" and I would then be able to print each page once I reinstalled the printer.

Now if I click on the "****.PRN" files that were saved Windows doesn't recognise the file extension. It sends me to a web site that searches for file types and identifies it as a printer text file but gives me no idea what to do with the file to print it out. Windows can't read the file it saved itself so how much sense does that make. What's the point of windows giving you the option to save the file if it can't open it for you again.
I opened it in wordpad and it's just a bunch of gibberish on screen. What else can I use to open and print these receipt pages for my bill payment records.